Samsung plans to unveil a foldable smartphone this year

Samsung is planning to announce a foldable smartphone before the end of the year. The news was confirmed by the CEO of Samsung's mobile division DJ Koh during an interview with CNBC.

The tech giant has been experimenting with bendable OLED displays for years, and the company first unveiled a prototype back in 2012. Since then, Samsung has been reportedly testing dual-screen smartphones, with the aim of bringing some type of device to market.

Not many details were given regarding the phone's design, but DJ Koh emphasized that the experience offered by Samsung's foldable smartphone would be different than a tablet when the device is unfolded. Koh also mentioned that users would be able to use most of the phone's feature when the device is in its "foldable status."

"You can use most of the uses ... on foldable status. But when you need to browse or see something, then you may need to unfold it. But even unfolded, what kind of benefit does that give compared to the tablet? If the unfolded experience is the same as the tablet, why would they (consumers) buy it?," Koh said at the IFA electronics show in Berlin last week.

"So every device, every feature, every innovation should have a meaningful message to our end customer. So when the end customer uses it, (they think) 'wow, this is the reason Samsung made it'."